ssd

[feway]

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[Anna Tummy]

I'm glad your grades are looking up and I feel for your struggles. Please keep it up with your psychiatrist - remember that you are more than your labels. These diagnoses are often imperfect categorizations of your thoughts/feelings/behaviours but can be helpful in getting access to things that will help (e.g. medication, therapy, educational accommodations etc.). The labels needn't define you for the rest of your life. 

If you decide it would help, you might also consider seeing a counsellor or psychotherapist in addition to your psychiatrist, to have more time every week to build on your coping skills. Otherwise, taking care of yourself by getting enough sleep, exercise and a balance of good food can make a difference. Take it one day at a time, one hour at a time, if necessary. Sorry if these sounds like mental health platitudes  I wish you the best on your path to good health. 

[feway]

7 hours ago, Anna Tummy said:

I'm glad your grades are looking up and I feel for your struggles. Please keep it up with your psychiatrist - remember that you are more than your labels. These diagnoses are often imperfect categorizations of your thoughts/feelings/behaviours but can be helpful in getting access to things that will help (e.g. medication, therapy, educational accommodations etc.). The labels needn't define you for the rest of your life. 

If you decide it would help, you might also consider seeing a counsellor or psychotherapist in addition to your psychiatrist, to have more time every week to build on your coping skills. Otherwise, taking care of yourself by getting enough sleep, exercise and a balance of good food can make a difference. Take it one day at a time, one hour at a time, if necessary. Sorry if these sounds like mental health platitudes  I wish you the best on your path to good health. 

Thank you! I really need to learn how to better take care of myself;; my physical health has been horrible which I think is really negatively affecting me in the long run;;

[Anna Tummy]

1 hour ago, Questionner said:

You don’t sound like you should be anyone’s doctor to be honest.

Do mental health struggles make someone unfit to be a doctor? If so, I think half the profession would need to step down. 

I don't think someone with a judgmental attitude and lack of compassion should be anyone's doctor, to be honest. 

[Cheers2life]

3 minutes ago, Questionner said:

I’m not judgemental at all.. this person has anxiety and depression about undergrad i can only imagine what’s gonna happen when they get a code blue at 2 am as the on call resident 

no one is born with the «doctor package», this is such an old and dumb mindset! we all learn to build our skills and cope with our weaknesses along the way. I would say its easier, but still hard, to show resilience from having a hard time, then to learn compassion and soft skills... and your code blue example probably comes from another TV show like Greys or something, dont get me wrong a love Greys, but srly..? I'm an MS2 and i'm sooooooo far from dealing with anything urgent at the moment, hopefully i'll get there, just like Feway if he/she makes it. Give us a favor and stop mixing TV shows and reality especially if you're going to make judgments like these on an anonymous forum...gees 

[Cheers2life]

13 minutes ago, Questionner said:

Hey MS2 just because your opinion differs from mine doesn’t mean yours is right. You really sound like an entitled little bratty girl which I’m 1000% certain you are 

alright...you probably dont speak/read/understand french cause you would've otherwise figured out my gender... but anyway, nothing about this even matters, not sure exactly where you're at in your student life but I hope you'll find a way to educate yourself on depression, mental health issues, cyberintimidation and many more topics that are being discuss on this thread. 

[IMislove]

Sad trolling attempt aside, I don't think they are so far off the point to be a wrong point of view. Do some health practitioners have mental health issues? Of course, and only becoming more common and the journey of medicine itself can give rise to issues. But to have already very serious and even dire mental health problems, and then get into medical school and then residency, well I would say they are putting themselves at an extreme risk. Just because someone gets into med doesn't solve the underlying depression or suicidal ideation. Going through the medical journey could be the thing that finally pushes them over the edge, and statistically, the medical community is way more likely to die of suicide than the average population yes? Something worth thinking about when someone is in this situation and they are seriously considering medicine. 

[adhominem]

I have to agree with IMislove here. Mental health issues during your undergraduate degree prior to medical school certainly don't rule out the possibility of becoming a doctor, but I think it is important to realize how much of an issue it could become. If you're already starting out having issues in an undergrad, what will the pressures of medical school and residency do to your mental health? As IMislove states, mental health issues within the profession are alarmingly high due to the stresses of the job. It may not be realistic to seek out this profession if you're having issues prior to entry because it may not be well-suited to your personality. 

48 minutes ago, Cheers2life said:

no one is born with the «doctor package», this is such an old and dumb mindset! we all learn to build our skills and cope with our weaknesses along the way. 

Our personalities and strengths/weaknesses play a huge role in how good of a doctor any of us will be in the future. People are different. Some people are better suited to cope with a high-stress job compared to others, which may be considered a precursory 'doctor package'. To argue from a social constructionist point of view that anyone can be/do anything if they just persevere long enough is ideological pseudoscience. Your eventual ability to become [insert profession here] relies heavily on your intrinsic abilities and inabilities, just as much as it does on your experiences in life.

[Cheers2life]

3 minutes ago, adhominem said:

I have to agree with IMislove here. Mental health issues during your undergraduate degree prior to medical school certainly don't rule out the possibility of becoming a doctor, but I think it is important to realize how much of an issue it could become. If you're already starting out having issues in an undergrad, what will the pressures of medical school and residency do to your mental health? As IMislove states, mental health issues within the profession are alarmingly high due to the stresses of the job. It may not be realistic to seek out this profession if you're having issues prior to entry because it may not be well-suited to your personality. 

Our personalities and strengths/weaknesses play a huge role in how good of a doctor any of us will be in the future. People are different. Some people are better suited to cope with a high-stress job compared to others, which may be considered a precursory 'doctor package'. To argue from a social constructionist point of view that anyone can be/do anything if they just persevere long enough is ideological pseudoscience. Your eventual ability to become [insert profession here] relies heavily on your intrinsic abilities and inabilities, just as much as it does on your experiences in life.

Still dont agree with the argument that in order to succeed in a certain field, you need to fit in a tiny box of intrinsic abilities... but i do agree with you that it most likely help if you do have certain features that will help you be more suited to a profession. 

 

Thanks for the comment

[indefatigable]

On December 3, 2017 at 2:47 AM, feway said:

 

*Again, super sorry if this all sounds super trivial LOL I've just been having a rough week. Grades are looking good but it's not making me happy. I get scared every time I go to my psychiatrist because I acquire another label every bloody time. First it was depression, then anxiety, then BED, then a 'mild' form of PTSD (after what happened a few years ago), and now we're wondering if intrusive thoughts falls under my anxiety or if I actually have OCD (which I've been suspecting for a while, but self-diagnosis doesn't mean much). ...and that was a longer list than I thought, lol. (Hopefully y'all are doing a lot better!) Thanks for reading  

OP please continue to seek the help and professional attention you need.  I would suggest limiting the scope your concerns on the forum to outside pscyh-domain, since this isn't the place to seek that kind of help.  If this is a continued concern for you, I would suggest making these questions, rather than med school more of an immediate priority.  I understand your desire to seek help and attention, but limit your scope to where the forum can be useful.   But from a strict opinion stand-point, people have been able to successfully be admitted to med school with as difficult first years.  

[vellichor]

There’s not that much practical difference between mental health issues and chronic physical illnesses? If it’s well-managed, there’s no reason you should be discouraged from going for a career you feel you would otherwise be suited for. If anything, it would help you in the empathy department- god knows I’ve heard of enough physicians with too little of that when it comes to dealing with patients with mental health concerns.

Besides-People with depression/anxiety/etc aren’t intrinsically any less capable of being excellent, compassionate physicians or learning the material- implying this only adds to the already existing stigma of people not being able to speak out when they do burn out or become suicidal in med school. If medical school/residency/the career in general is triggering mental health breakdowns in otherwise mentally healthy people then maybe it’s time to look at making systemic changes to medical training instead of casting blame on the individual and dismissing whole swaths of the population as having so-called “weak personalities unsuited to medicine”. 

[IMislove]

20 minutes ago, vellichor said:

There’s not that much practical difference between mental health issues and chronic physical illnesses? If it’s well-managed, there’s no reason you should be discouraged from going for a career you feel you would otherwise be suited for. If anything, it would help you in the empathy department- god knows I’ve heard of enough physicians with too little of that when it comes to dealing with patients with mental health concerns.

Besides-People with depression/anxiety/etc aren’t intrinsically any less capable of being excellent, compassionate physicians or learning the material- implying this only adds to the already existing stigma of people not being able to speak out when they do burn out or become suicidal in med school. If medical school/residency/the career in general is triggering mental health breakdowns in otherwise mentally healthy people then maybe it’s time to look at making systemic changes to medical training instead of casting blame on the individual and dismissing whole swaths of the population as having so-called “weak personalities unsuited to medicine”. 

 

I totally agree with the empathy department portion, you would definitely be able to more readily understand a patients feelings and what they're going through then if you have never experienced mental illness. I don't think anyone is arguing about mild mental illness anyway. Just very severe cases, even ones where they are medicated. We cannot solve everyone's depression or suicidal ideation. And if the mental illness is enough to really impact your judgment as a physician, then you do need to seek help and stop practice until it is managed: http://www.cpso.on.ca/Policies-Publications/The-Practice-Guide-Medical-Professionalism-and-Col/Principles-of-Practice-and-Duties-of-Physicians/Duties-to-Themselves-and-Others/Duties-To-Themselves-and-Colleagues-Wellness.

I wholeheartedly agree we should be able to speak out when we need help. And there probably is room for change in the medical curriculum, hidden and visible. Chronic physical illness is not without its challenges too, some impacting the essential skills and abilities: https://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/omsas-essential/. 

I just don't think its a realistic outlook that ANYONE can become a physician. Also, no one said people with anxiety/depression/ etc aren't intrinsically able to practice, severity is important. Blanket statements are something I try to avoid. 

 

[vellichor]

4 minutes ago, IMislove said:

I totally agree with the empathy department portion, you would definitely be able to more readily understand a patients feelings and what they're going through then if you have never experienced mental illness. I don't think anyone is arguing about mild mental illness anyway. Just very severe cases, even ones where they are medicated. We cannot solve everyone's depression or suicidal ideation. And if the mental illness is enough to really impact your judgment as a physician, then you do need to seek help and stop practice until it is managed: http://www.cpso.on.ca/Policies-Publications/The-Practice-Guide-Medical-Professionalism-and-Col/Principles-of-Practice-and-Duties-of-Physicians/Duties-to-Themselves-and-Others/Duties-To-Themselves-and-Colleagues-Wellness.

I wholeheartedly agree we should be able to speak out when we need help. And there probably is room for change in the medical curriculum, hidden and visible. Chronic physical illness is not without its challenges too, some impacting the essential skills and abilities: https://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/omsas-essential/. 

I just don't think its a realistic outlook that ANYONE can become a physician. Also, no one said people with anxiety/depression/ etc aren't intrinsically able to practice, severity is important. Blanket statements are something I try to avoid. 

 

Of course. Like I mentioned, any mental/physical illness should be well-managed, but the mere existence of them doesn’t imply inability to practice. And yes, it’s true, not everyone can be a physician- admission rates are pretty much sufficient proof of that. But if someone has top grades, an excellent MCAT, volunteering, awards, work experience, reference letters attesting to their abilities, hobbies, AND interviews well- then clearly regardless of any physical/mental diagnoses, they’re capable of being a doctor.

[indefatigable]

35 minutes ago, IMislove said:

Just very severe cases, even ones where they are medicated. We cannot solve everyone's depression or suicidal ideation. And if the mental illness is enough to really impact your judgment as a physician, then you do need to seek help and stop practice until it is managed: http://www.cpso.on.ca/Policies-Publications/The-Practice-Guide-Medical-Professionalism-and-Col/Principles-of-Practice-and-Duties-of-Physicians/Duties-to-Themselves-and-Others/Duties-To-Themselves-and-Colleagues-Wellness.

I wholeheartedly agree we should be able to speak out when we need help. And there probably is room for change in the medical curriculum, hidden and visible. Chronic physical illness is not without its challenges too, some impacting the essential skills and abilities: https://www.ouac.on.ca/omsas/omsas-essential/. 

I just don't think its a realistic outlook that ANYONE can become a physician. Also, no one said people with anxiety/depression/ etc aren't intrinsically able to practice, severity is important. Blanket statements are something I try to avoid. 

It's great to bring awareness of practice concerns, but we're quite aways from that with the OP.  We're not here to solve nor give professional judgement regarding anyone's depression or other issues, either.  

[IMislove]

1 hour ago, calcan said:

It's great to bring awareness of practice concerns, but we're quite aways from that with the OP.  We're not here to solve nor give professional judgement regarding anyone's depression or other issues, either.  

 

Totally, I think we may have drifted off topic here. The focus is on OP.